DM Khel's Tower of the Ironwood Watch (Inactive)

Game Master Khelreddin

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It turns out I have 5 characters in the 8-9 range.

Hrolf is a flexible character but if we end up lacking something I have a rogue or barbarian I can bring in instead.

-.. --- -

Mavarion is a consistent damage dealer and sneaky/roguelike character. His social skills are...well, we won't get into that, but it doesn't stop him from trying to be friendly.

Yarrr,

I'd be interested in this. I have played this before and would be using a GM * to replay. However I have not read it and did not enter past the initial courtyard when I played it. I can PM you more details about what I remember if desired.

If it's at all an issue I'm happy to step aside.

My posting has slowed down a bit but 1/day+ is generally still a thing. As a note I'll be away at DundraCon the 17th-20th but I should manage at least one post a day late in evening.

Hello, Mavarion, and welcome!

Rob - I'd love to have you play and am honored you'd burn a star for it! I'll defer to you (and any input the other players might provide) on what character you play.

And I'll be at DundraCon those dates also, so there's a good chance the game will be on hiatus that weekend anyway.

Any of those should be fine Rob. Play whatever you want!

Hassam al-Rashid it is.

Been awhile since I've played this character... just sold my feather step slippers back for full. I don't think this character has anything weird that needs explaining, other than being a grand-fathered Aasimar (Scion of Humanity).

I'm in the same boat as Pirate Rob but I am willing to play. For high tier I have an archer slayer 7 or a Priest of Razmir 9.

Cool, happy to have you, Red.

As with Rob's question, play whichever you like. If the rest of the party has strong opinions on the matter, I expect they'll let you know.

With Red's arrival, we now have enough for the game to start. You guys have a preference on playing with four vs six? I like smaller games, but can go either way.

Smaller game! The smaller the better.

Sorceror Priest of Razmir it is then!

Okay, small it is! Table is complete!

are you full? This is actually one of the few I need.

Sorry, we're just going with a table of four for this one.

I hope y'all are having a good time so far, I'm enjoying myself. I'd especially like to say how glad I am that Mavarion has joined us. I've played with Liam, Hassam and Hrolf's players a lot and I know they're great, and I'm glad to meet another fun PbP'er! Great writing and roleplay!

As mentioned earlier, I will be away at a con Friday PM until Monday, and posting will probably not happen. Then, over the next few weeks, I will be on some extensive work trips, which wrap up on March 19. I should still be able to post most days, but my schedule will be a bit erratic.

Thanks, DM Khel! I've been doing PbP on and off for a year or so, and now that I'm here to stay, I'm definitely enjoying it. I especially love playing Mavarion, given that he can seem like any class on any given day. But in the end, all he does is throw improbable objects at people to devastating effect.

A quality story, Mavarion. I find some of my most fun character stories come from how they interact with the first couple of scenarios they play, and that really helps chart the course and personality (if you can chart a personality...) of a given character.

I do that somewhat often too. My first character came in thinking the Society was a lot more high and noble than it was, and traveling with a bunch of murderhobos and pyromaniacs, coupled with an unusual amount of deaths, changed his state of mind considerably.

Wow, Mavarion, sorry to hear about the troublesome player. Sounds like an unpleasant situation, and one I find hard to even imagine.

At the risk of adding to unpleasantness, can you walk me through the impacts of the damage you took from the arrows? In your post on Thursday, it looked like you had taken 41 damage at that point. The first crit arrow did from today's post did 44 regular and 10 electricity damage. I think that should put you unconscious (or perhaps dead?), right? There is a great deal I do not know about telekineticists and I imagine I'm missing something there, so getting your explanation would be helpful.

One thing I realized I need to revise: Zolvato used up his last two shock arrows with his manyshot attack this round (the first crit), so you can take off 6 electricity damage and 2 regular damage, as the last arrow that hit you was non-magical.

Thanks for your support, DM Khel! I've been getting a surprising amount of encouragement and advice from GMs all around, including you and Liam. This thing is really getting blown out of proportion by the player in question, so I'll be happy when it all blows over.

Ah, now that I can explain. I didn't take 41 damage, I took 13. The OOC "total" number I put under my blast's damage dice is how much damage it actually deals, after being empowered. If you're not familiar with the kineticist, it can use various metamagic feat-like tricks on their blasts as they increase in level, and at 5th they can empower their blasts as if using Empower Spell, even though it isn't one. It costs one burn, but I can do it for free if I also spend my move action. Given that, I'll be doing it most of the time and say in the attack dice description if I am, which I've been doing. This is the same as I've already done, but here's an example:

Empowered Telekinetic Blast: 1d20 ⇒ 5
Damage: 4d6 + 10 ⇒ (4, 2, 2, 6) + 10 = 24

So here, the damage in the dice roll is final. But if it's empowered:

Telekinetic Blast: 1d20 ⇒ 7
Damage: 4d6 + 10 ⇒ (1, 5, 5, 2) + 10 = 23
Here, as I'm sure you know from Empower Spell, we add half again the total of the dice. So in this case, a total of 29 damage.

Now that I think about it, I've also been forgetting Stoneskin. Therefore, I took the 13 damage from the first hit, taking out my Force Barrier, and I take 10 less from each of the crits, and 8 less from the arrow change-up. I believe that brings me up from 4 to 32, 11 HP away from unconsciousness. I will double-check shortly, I've been reading through and transcribing PMs for a while.

Mavarion - I saw your post over at Flaxseed and looked at the campaign in question a bit, and I really feel for you. You might recall, we had a fifth player pop in here just as we started and ask if he could join. I took a look at his posts in other games and saw a similar pattern to what you encountered in your game - lots of one-line posts, mostly just dice rolls. Based on that, and wanting to have an enjoyable game for all of us, I told him we were going with four players. Sorry your situation played out as it did, hope it's resolving okay.

Thanks for the explanation of your damage, both given and received. However, it leaves me facing a wee dilemma: now that I know how much damage you actually did (I did not read your empowered damage info correctly), the drow archer would have been unconscious just before he hit you with two crits. I guess that means he would not have made those attacks, but they added such excitement to the whole scene!

Looks like it's time for a bit of a retcon...I'll leave it to you to recalculate your HP based on not getting deadly arrows stuck in both eyes.

Yeah, there've been mistakes on both sides, certainly, but I'm out of it now, having given the player his Chronicle. The rest is up to Hilary and Jesse, although I don't think there's much more to be done. Certainly an interesting (if not necessarily awesome) experience for my first PbP GM'd. I'm a little surprised by what you said about qstor, but we needn't get into that. I just feel like a 5-star GM would be above such things.

That almost does feel too bad, the loss of action, that is, but Mavarion also happens to like his eyes bright and not punctured by speeding projectiles (unless he happens to be throwing them).

It happens. There's nothing to be done but try to learn from the experience.

I don't think I've ever had to actually kick someone from my games but I've gotten really close on a few occasions. Most of the time problem players shape up once they realize they have zero power in the discussion. A few times they've left of their own accord at which point I give them their chronicle, wish them luck, and add their name to my personal s++*list so I can avoid playing with them or running for them in the future.

Sorry about the slay living, Rob, but it's consistent with the tactics given for her. And it looks like shield other will allow Hassam and Hrolf to both enjoy the effects without quite killing either of you.

And maybe you'll make your save and it won't matter. I did have a moment where I feared I was going to kill both of you with one spell which, while it would make a good story, isn't really what I'm after.

I like when monsters do interesting and effective things, it's way more interesting than the alternative.

I've played hundreds of PFS scenarios, while winning feels good I'd much rather have a unique story and experience, even if it involves the death of one of my characters.

Also Hassam is a very offensive orientated character. His defenses are somewhat lacking but that's the price for a bard that can dish out so much damage. Things should be beating him up, and it should suck.

I think this is the second scenario where I've had to play him on the front line instead of the second, in that one I think he went unconscious 3 times. Only reason that hasn't happened here is Hrolf and Liam.

That is one nasty woman.

I'm loving her monologues though.

I'm loving her monologues though.

Glad to hear it! The scenario gives an idea about what kind of commentary she makes, but I'm having fun taking it a bit further. And I'm glad you're finding the combat interesting - it's been a bit challenging on my end to pick her tactics and get all the details right, but it's fun.

That is one nasty woman.

Now why would you say that about a demonic apostle of Shax, the demon lord of torturers and serial killers? She's just misunderstood.

It is a challenge keeping you alive, Hassam.

Hey Mavion, I just noticed you may be shorting yourself quite a bit of damage.

FAQ on Empower

Empower Spell: If I use Empower Spell on a spell that has a die roll with a numerical bonus (such as cure moderate wounds), does the feat affect the numerical bonus?

Yes. For example, if you empower cure moderate wounds, the +50% from the feat applies to the 2d8 and to the level-based bonus.

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Including all these delicious buffs :)

Sweet magical possibly existent deity/deities! My Core Rulebook says it only affects dice rolls, but upon looking at the link and the PRD it seems there was an update or errata of some sort. Well, time to make DM Khel even sadder :)

Wow, I had not heard that. The Mav-cannon just got even deadlier. If he's going to blow Inexora out of the sky, I guess I should get to work on chronicles, eh?

Speaking of which, can y'all post your PFS #, faction and day job here?

10774-09
Grand Lodge
No day job

Thanks for running Khel!

150818-34
Grand Lodge
Day Job: Sleight of Hand (vanity, +2 vanity bonus): 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (14) + 16 = 30

Wait, it's almost over? That was fewer encounters than I expected. Either way, thanks for running, I had plenty of fun!

Yeah, it's almost over. The optional encounter was a fight with a handful of myceloids in a mushroom garden and you guys would have just turned them into paste in a couple of rounds. This way, we should be done or close to it before I leave for my next trip on Monday.

I assume no one is slow track?

20056-17
Grand Lodge
Craft(Alchemy): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29

757-15
Scarab Sages
Perform Oratory: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (20) + 17 = 37
100gp

For my faction card: I am hoping to check off Explore an ancient sire that the original occupants abandoned at least 1,000 years ago that is at least 2,500 square feet (50x50)

Yes, this site meets all those criteria. Consider the box checked.

Okay, gang, chronicles are done.

Hassam

Hrolf

Liam

Mavarion

It was great fun playing with you all, I'll see about getting another game going when I return from my trip in a couple of week.

Hrolf - do you still have past scenarios you need to play? I might as well try to plug a gap for you if I'm going to run something.

Edit: looking at the PFS Session Tracker, it looks like Hrolf and Liam could both play #7-3, The Bronze House Reprisal, though Hassam has played it. I have played that scenario and could run it here.

Mavarion, doesn't look like you use the tracker - I'd recommend checking it out.

Thanks for DMing Khel. I appreciate it as always.

There's a few I still need to check off the list but we can figure that out when you get back from your trip.

Edit: Sounds good Khel.

Thanks for running! Twas super fun.

Hrolf - see my edited post above with a proposed scenario for when I get back.

I wouldn't worry about me, I need to reduce my pbp presence a little bit to get through the rest of tax season.

I'm up for Bronze House Reprisal, I'd you'd like to run it. This scenario was definitely fun.

I also registered for the session tracker, but I'm not quite sure how to use it. I may figure it out, but I don't know how to mark scenarios as played or GM'd (Core or otherwise).

Chronicle sheet looks good.

Thank you very much Khel for GMing, and thank you everybody for all the help surviving, especially Hrolf and his shield other.

/flex

*Is chopped liver apparently.

Stoneskin and various heals were greatly appreciated as well.

<3

I also registered for the session tracker, but I'm not quite sure how to use it. I may figure it out, but I don't know how to mark scenarios as played or GM'd (Core or otherwise).

When you're on the main page, click on your name on the top right, then select 'Report'.

This will bring up a page that lets you check boxes next to scenarios, by season, to indicate you've played or GM'ed them, in classic or core. It takes a bit of doing when you first report, but it's a very useful tool (especially if all your players are on it and you want to figure out a scenario to play).

I did just try to search for you by PFS # and you didn't come up, maybe because you haven't reported games yet?